APSN | Asean leaders call for political reform in Burma

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Asean leaders call for political reform in Burma

Irrawaddy - March 2, 2009

Wai Moe, Cha-am, Thailand – The heads of state at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit in Cha-am, central Thailand, raised Burmese issues at meetings, calling for the release of political prisoners and an "all-inclusive process" as the country moves toward a general election next year, the Thai Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, said.

Addressing journalists on the final day of the summit, the Thai premier said that Burma had been discussed again that day among other issues. He said that his counterparts had echoed earlier calls to make the political process in Burma "as all-inclusive as possible."

Abhisit also said that the Asean leaders had called for the release of political prisoners in military-ruled Burma, where currently about 2,100 political activists are being held in prisons around the country.

However, unlike the 13th Asean Summit in Singapore in November 2007, no Asean delegate mentioned Aung San Suu Kyi's name at the summit. "Nobody mentioned the name of Aung San Suu Kyi," said Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

According to Badawi, Asean's responsibility on Burma is to cooperate with the United Nations' efforts, in particular UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Good Offices in Burma. All Burma efforts by Asean will go through the UN, Badawi said.

Another Burma issue raised at the summit on Sunday was the issue of Rohingya boatpeople. It was decided that the matter had to be discussed again under the context of the Bali Process in Indonesia in April. But delegates did not use the term "Rohingya," instead referring to the boatpeople as "illegal migrants in the Indian Ocean."

Asean delegates agreed to pool military resources to respond to humanitarian disasters in the region, such as the 2004 tsunami and the 2008 Cyclone Nargis, said Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan on Sunday. However, he did not clarify whether Asean had discussed a R2P (Responsibility to Protect) mandate or not.